Restless
by Frederica
Summary: Gohan and Videl were happily marrried, had a child and were both working for a crime lab. However, when Videl herself gets killed, Gohan starts seeing things. He starts seeing Videl, and it's up to him to solve the crime...
1. Chapter 1: Losing You

**Restless** by Frederica

**Chapter 1: Losing you**

** > > > > > >**

Gohan was staring deeply into the glass. The bottom of the glass was in his dancing hand, the wine was dancing in circles with it. Gohan was intensely staring at how waves of wine were dancing around in his glass. He had it under control. If he stopped moving his hand, the waves would stop too. Nevertheless, there were so many things he didn't have under control. One of these was his pretty wife, who he cared so deeply for. Videl… She had her arms wrapped around him and her chin was on his chest. She looked up with a desperate look on her face.

"Please, Gohan, please let me go out this once. We are only gong to Silver Creek to have a drink. Then we'll head home again. I promise I won't make it late," she begged him. Gohan put his glass of wine on the table and rubbed his temples with his fingers, trying hard not to look in her beautiful eyes.

"But it is our little place. The place we met. The place we had our first kiss. The place I asked you to marry me. The place is so special. Only we know how special it is. We gave Silver Creek a meaning," Gohan said. That was one part of why he did not want her to go with Erasa. He just didn't want to share it with anyone else. The other part was that something was not feeling right.

Silver Creek was a place by the water. It is just a small place with flowers and trees. It used to be a beach once, but eventually grass started growing, and everyone lots interest in the place. Except for Gohan and Videl. They both went there when they felt troubled. They would look how the moonlight was reflected by the water, and giving the creek a silver glow. One night they were both troubled, and went to Silver Creek. That's where they had met. They had sat down together and talked their troubles over. They talked about their lost hopes and dreams. They did not think that they would meet ever again, but destiny brought them together again at a wedding of a friend. They fell in love and got married eventually.

That moment, Sharpner and Erasa entered the building and knocked on the door. These two had fallen in love too, but they decided not to get married yet because they often argued. Sharpner and Erasa were a funny couple, just like Gohan and Videl.

"Hey, are you done having sex now? Erasa wants to go!" Sharpner yelled against the door. He obviously had not changed from being a big tease. Gohan and Videl had to keep back a laugh when they heard Erasa whispering his name through her teeth warningly.

"We were not doing…that! I told you I had to feed the baby!" Videl yelled back. She laid her hands on Gohan's lap and brought her face to Gohan's. She slowly kissed him. Gohan closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment as he kissed back.

"And Gohan gets to watch? That's basically the same…" Sharpner replied. Gohan opened his eyes and noticed a light blush on Videl's cheeks. They broke apart. Videl got off Gohan's lap and opened the door. Sharpner and Erasa stepped in. Gohan stood up too and received a friendly punch on the shoulder from Sharpner. Gohan tried to smile. He did not understand himself. He had married her, loved and cared for her always, then why did he find it so hard to accept her wishes this time? Was he becoming jealous? Thinking that these thoughts would not make him a good husband, he shook them away. He pretended to need to walk past her towards the cradle and laid his hands on her shoulder. He brought his face near hers.

"Go," he whispered in her ear, and he continued walking towards the cradle. Videl pretended that she did not hear anything and she too continued walking around, but when Erasa and Sharpner were not looking, she nodded at him thankfully. Gohan bowed his head over the cradle and looked at the little baby girl. She was now two and a half months old. Her name was Ellony. The girl stared at him with her big blue eyes, she threw her legs around and held her small hands up in the air. Gohan held out a finger. Ellony grabbed it. Gohan rubbed her hand with his finger lovingly.

"Very good, Elle, but daddy's hands are still a lot bigger than yours…" Gohan said in a soft voice. The baby made silly noises and smiled at him, as if she was trying to talk back to him. Gohan smiled and picked the baby up from the cradle. He carefully laid the baby in his arms. Videl grabbed a black bag from the coat-hook on the wall and took her wallet out of a drawer. She then looked up at Gohan.

"Are you going to be okay? Please try not to crush the baby," Videl said, smiling. Gohan was in no good mood and did not feel like laughing.

"It's not funny. Now go, and have fun, okay?" Gohan said, as Erasa took the baby from him. Videl walked over to Gohan and stood on her tiptoes to give him a small kiss on the lips. She then went to the baby and kissed Ellony softly on her forehead. She then took the baby from Erasa and handed her over to Gohan. Gohan then laid her back in the cradle.

"Okay then. Well, we will be back at about ten, I think," Videl explained. Erasa nodded.

"What! You take three hours to go out for a drink and walk around a creek?" Sharpner exclaimed.

"Yes, I do! And you have no right of speaking, since you are always out a whole night to see a football match on television in the pub. A whole night for a match of one and a half hour!" Erasa exclaimed back at him.

"That is because we play a round of pool afterwards!" Sharpner yelled. Gohan and Videl looked at each other, with a hint of frustration in their eyes. Videl grasped Gohan's hand.

"Then what are these dancing bimbos doing there with these big breasts? Surely they are not just playing pool with you!" Erasa's face was turning red from anger now.

"I..."

"Okay, okay, okay! You guys should really go now, because Ellony needs to be fed by her mother in three hours, and if her mother is not there, she won't be pleased!" Gohan said. He laid his hands on Videl's shoulders and pushed her towards the door. Erasa and Sharpner followed. Sharpner kissed Erasa on the cheek.

"Have fun, honey!" he said.

"We will!" Erasa answered. Videl held her arms open to Gohan. Gohan embraced her and rubbed her back with one hand. She then kissed him on the cheek. Gohan kissed her back on the lips.

"Take good care of you and Elle, love," Gohan's eyes shot wide open when Videl said that. He did not know why, but something about these words scared him. He did not want to start again, so he just shook the thoughts away.

"Sure, I will," Gohan answered. Videl smiled, and laid her hand on Erasa's shoulder, to push her through the door. Gohan watched how Erasa and Videl walked trough the carpeted hall, which lead to a huge glass elevator. When they reached the elevator, Videl turned her head around once more to see how Gohan was still standing in the doorway, watching her. She waved at him, with a half-smile. Gohan put his hand up in return, but he could not bring himself to smile. They looked a while at each other, until Erasa grabbed Videl's hands while she was talking enthusiastically. Videl looked at Erasa surprised, and Gohan could tell that the smile she flashed to Erasa was a fake.

"Yo, what are we waiting for?" Sharpner broke Gohan's gaze. Gohan shook his head, as if he wanted to shake these strange emotions about Videl away. Gohan checked his watch. He was going to panic every minute Videl was late, he could already tell.

"Well, it's almost seven o'clock. I'm up for a drink. How about you?" Gohan suggested to Sharpner. Sharpner agreed. "However, I must bring Elle with me. If I don't, well…it's a baby, I hope you understand," Gohan explained. Sharpner groaned.

"I hate kids! I'm telling you, as soon as Erasa wants to have babies, I'm leaving her!" Sharpner said. Gohan grinned when he took Ellony out of her cradle.

"You are so cruel! Trust me, babies are nice, but they just take a lot out of you," Gohan answered while he tried to fix the baby up in the carriage, but she started crying. Gohan started making funny sounds, to try to cheer her up.

"These pregnancies are horrible too! These girls keep putting their frustrations on you, and you get blamed for everything. I swear to God, Gohan, not in a million years!" Sharpner said. By now, Gohan had managed to get his daughter into the baby-carriage and she had stopped crying.

"That's nonsense you are talking now. When Videl was pregnant, which is not that long ago, she was moody sometimes, but there were also many great times," Gohan stated. He pushed the carriage through the doorway.

"Like?"

"Feeling how the baby kicked. Even when Videl still had a small stomach, you could feel something moving within her. That was just magical," Gohan said. Gohan reached the elevator and pressed the button to make the elevator go down to his level.

"You have become such a dreamer, Gohan. I feel stupid hanging out with you," Sharpner said. This did not hurt Gohan, but he did feel how he was getting angry.

"Well, why won't you go if you feel so stupid?" Gohan told him. Sharpner raised his hands up in defence while they entered the elevator, which had arrived at their level.

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you have gotten so different than I thought you'd be. You know, working for a crime lab, I had expected you to be tough and a bit like an action hero," Sharpner admitted. "And now that I see you again for the first time since a long while ago, you turn out to be such a perfect father. You are a family man and that is just not what I had imagined."

"Well, you are not entirely wrong, you know," Gohan pushed the button to the main floor, where the restaurant, the bar and the entrance to the building were located. "When I work, I am an action hero. At home, I am the family man. You caught me at home," Gohan said.

"You call this your home? A hotel? A giant hotel?" Sharpner asked.

"Yes, but this hotel is perfect. On the first floor they have a playground for children and a casino. The restaurant has perfect meals, and I think it has four stars or something. Oh well, you find the quality back in the prices though," Gohan admitted.

"Sounds good, but why do you want to live in a hotel?"

"Laziness. Videl and I first wanted to get an apartment, but we could not find one that easily. Since we really wanted to get away from our parents, we tried to rent a house. That worked, until Videl got pregnant. The house was too small for three people. Videl, with all the hormones, did not want to look for another house, so we decided on this hotel. We like it here. The employees here treat us like spoiled brats in return for a little money. We want to stay here a little longer," Gohan explained. At that moment, they reached the main floor, and they got out of the elevator.

"Erasa and I do have an apartment, but this is much better! How can you afford all this?"

"Well, being a CSI-officer…I have nothing to complain about my income."

"Really? You earn that much?"

"Well, Videl and I work shifts of sixteen hours a day. If we're unlucky, we have to work all day and night. So, we earn lots of money, because almost every day we work more than our contract tells us to do," Gohan said.

"And now that you have Elle?" Sharpner asked curiously.

"Some things are going to have to change," Gohan admitted. Sharpner nodded. They walked across a red carpeted floor, past the reception, to a big space which was occupied by tables. The bar was standing near the wall, with shelves full of different drinks standing against the wall. In the wall, there was a door. The kitchen lay behind the door. There were many personnel working at the moment. Gohan parked the baby carriage next to the bar. He folded his hands and waited until one of the guys behind the bar noticed him.

"Hello, mister Son. How may I help you?" the guy smiled friendly at Gohan. He was neatly dressed up in a hotel uniform.

"Well Fede, I'll just have an orange juice. What do you want Sharpner?"

"Perhaps you would like to try our excellent hot wine, sir?" Another guy jumped in between them.

"Sure," Sharpner answered. The guy then questionably turned around to face Gohan.

"No, thank you. I still need to drive," Gohan answered. Sharpner frowned.

"Oh really? Where to?"

"Now that you mention it…I don't know. I have this strange feeling. It has been there all day," Gohan scratched his head. "Well, I still take the orange juice, I already had whine in my room."

"As you wish, sir."

"Oh, and could you also bring me the menu? I haven't had anything to eat yet," Gohan asked.

"Certainly, sir. Please, follow me," Fede grabbed two menus and started walking to the other side of the room. Gohan and Sharpner followed. Fede pointed to a table for two, which was nicely decorated by a table-cover and a candle. There was also some free space next to the table, where Gohan parked Ellony. Gohan and Sharpner sat down and Fede handed Gohan a menu. He also wanted to give Sharpner one, but Sharpner did not want one.

"No, thanks, I already had something at home," he answered. Fede nodded and left. Gohan looked inside the baby-carriage to see how his daughter was doing. She was sleeping, thankfully.

"So, Gohan," Sharpner started,"What case are you working on at the crime lab currently?"

"Well, there is not much that I'm allowed to say about it," Gohan warned, "but it is about a group of youngsters who were found dead in a deserted area."

"Bloody," Sharpner commented.

"Well no, that's the crazy thing. No blood, not a clear, definite cause of death. That is what makes this case a mystery. I think that they were doing some kind of crazy ritual which got out of hand."

"So…you're suggesting something…paranormal?"

"Oh, I don't know," Gohan answered. The drinks arrived, and Gohan immediately took the glass and drank half of it. "I believe there is more to life than what we know now, but I'm not sure if it reaches as far as summoning the dead and the evil spirits. Well, if I don't find any clues soon, they are going to close the case, and it will add on to the list of the unsolved mysteries and crimes."

"That's no good," Sharpner also drank from his whine. Gohan shook his head.

"No, it's not. How is your job by the way?"

"Well, as a boxer I don't see as many special things as you do. In extreme cases, someone gets killed, and that's all out of the ordinary I see," Sharpner explained. "Oh God, I'll get a midlife crisis if I keep going this way." Gohan thought. What could he say about this? Sharpner had not gone to college like he had. Gohan was happy that a waiter came to him to take his order. Gohan ordered an asparagus omelette.

> > > > > >

"This is great!" Sharpner recalled a few hours later. Gohan was sitting on the bench outside of the casino with Ellony in his lap. He was not allowed to bring her in, so he decided to wait outside while Sharpner gambled. "I won five zeni!"

"Congratulations, we have a winner of the first prize!" Gohan muttered sarcastically. He had been waiting, and he was getting a little bored. He had expected the evening to turn out different.

"Hey! Anything is better than nothing!" Sharpner commented. "So? Shall we watch the football game in that 'house' of yours?"

"Yeah, sure," Gohan said. He rested his case. This evening was not going to get any better. He stood up with Elle in his arms and carefully put her bag in the carriage.

'I just wish that something will distract me from all this, just so I have something meaningful to do!' the minute Gohan finished this thought, his cell phone rang. Gohan took his cell phone from his pocket on his jeans. It was just an old simple telephone. It could call and receive calls, and that was it. It could not even send messages! Gohan checked the display, before he excused to Sharpner and walked away.

"Captain Brass, sir. I'd rather not go now because I'm out with a friend, and so is Videl, you see. We can't leave the baby behind, especially not with my friend around. I'd be happy to help when Videl gets back," Gohan told his boss. He spoke in soft whisper, to make sure Sharpner could not hear him.

"You better sit down for a while, now, Gohan," Jim Brass talked to him, "We found a body…"

"Well, I'll start on it as soon as Videl gets back!" Gohan replied.

"Listen Gohan, I have something to tell you which is not easy. Go and sit down, Gohan," captain Brass told him. Gohan had a bad feeling about this.

"No, I don't want to sit down. Just tell me straight up," Gohan commented.

"Gohan, I want you to sit down, NOW!" Brass demanded. Gohan was getting dizzy, so he was forced to sit down. He sat down on the stairs, gazing forward. "Are you still there?"

"Yes, and I'm sitting down now. Now tell me…" Brass was silent for a while.

"I am really sorry, Gohan. There is no easier way to tell you this, but you'll have to come to the office" Brass said. Gohan did not understand why his head was acting so strange. He really started to feel sick.

"I just told you that I will come as soon as Videl gets back!"

"Videl is not coming back, Gohan," Jim Brass shouted. He immediately felt sorry for raising his voice like that. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I'm really sorry. Of all people, you are the last one who deserves this."

"Videl…"Gohan sank to his knees in defeat. He did not know what he felt. There was fear, a terrifying fear that he felt he was getting absorbed in. Gohan could not cry, because there was something holding him back. "It's not true. She's still alive," he heard himself saying. He felt like he was not himself. Someone else had taken control of him. This calm attitude, this daze he was in, it was not him!

"I'm sorry Gohan, but it's true. Videl is dead. Some girl called Erasa phoned the emergency services. They came, and they phoned us. They were too late, Gohan. Videl was lying with her face in the water," Brass told him. He closed his eyes in sorrow. The poor guy…why did this have to happen to Gohan? And why did he himself have to bring the news? Brass feared for Gohan's actions now.

"It is not true…It is not true!" Gohan shouted. There was a silence for a while.

"Gohan, she fell off the pier, and into the creek. She had hit her head on the pier and lost consciousness. She drowned, Gohan. I'm sorry. I will phone you later when we're back at the lab to—"Gohan did not let him finish, but turned the phone off. He certainly had forgotten about everything. He rushed to the stairs, and raced down. On the main floor, he ran past all the people who were staring at him curiously. He left the hotel and ran to his car, accidentally leaving Sharpner behind.

"Hey Gohan, wait!" Sharpner called after Gohan, but he was stopped by the cries of a baby. Gohan and Videl's baby to be exact. Sharpner slowly turned around. He could not just leave her there! With a disgusted face, he walked back towards the baby carriage. Gohan could better have a real good excuse for this!

> > > > > >

Meanwhile, Gohan jumped into his car and started it. He quickly accelerated and raced out of the street. He was driving way too hard, but he could not care less. His mind was all blank. All he knew was that he had to get Videl soon, to help her. He was going to the creek. She needed his help, but she was not dead! These stupid emergency people do not know anything these days anymore. Gohan passed the shops and the nightclub's on the left, and the protected nature environment on the right, as he was on his way to what was a beach once.

When he came close to Silver Creek, Gohan hit the brakes as he was about to hit a red car in front of him. Gohan cursed when he noticed there was a traffic jam up front. He felt himself getting dizzy again, so he stepped out of the car. He had to get there as soon as possible. Troubled, he looked around. There was a forest, and he noticed that there was a bright light shining up in the air. Gohan knew he had to get there. He slammed the door of his car shut, but forgot to lock them. He ran to the forest and immediately recognised the place. As a child, he had gone there several times.

Gohan started running through the dark forest, following the light that was shining through the leaves of the trees. His mind was still blank, and he did not notice how the branches of the trees cut his shirt and his arms. He ran to the light, often stumbling over the roots of the trees. When he finally came out of the forest, he looked around, but the light was gone! He noticed a group standing in a circle, surrounding something. Gohan stumbled towards is, not being able to walk properly, because he felt a sharp pain shoot through his ankle.

"Listen people, move away! We are investigating a crime scene here! Do not cross these lines, understood?" Gohan saw his colleague, Sara Sidle, pointing from the audience to a red and white coloured ribbon. She was standing in the circle behind the ribbon. She had a flashlight in her hand, and she was wearing gloves. The wind was tugging at her brown hair. When she looked up, she saw Gohan. She was surprised and shocked to see him. "Gohan! What happened to you?" Gohan stumbled towards her.

"Videl…is she…here?" Gohan tried to take a look at what lay beyond the ribbon, but Sara blocked him the way.

"Listen Gohan, you are not supposed to be here," Sara told him.

"I asked you if Videl was here," Gohan demanded.

"Gohan" when Sara tried to calm him down again, he pushed her away and stepped over the ribbon. When he saw a body lying on the ground, Gohan walked to it and sank down on his knees. There was a petite girl lying on the ground. Her raven hair was plastered to her face. She was wet. Her eyes were closed. This was most definitely Videl. He noticed she had a big wound on the back of her head. Her skin was very pale. Gohan did not ask any questions, but he crawled towards her, as if he were in a daze. He took her in his arms. Another CSI, Nick Stokes, was standing in the corner and ran towards him.

"Gohan, don't do this! You are destroying the best evidence there is!" he yelled at Gohan, but he would not listen. He took her head in his hands and rested her body in his lap.

'I love you, Gohan. Take care of Ellony.' Gohan's eyes widened. Her mouth was not moving, but he was sure that he had heard her voice. She was not dead, he had been right all the time!

"She is not dead! Everybody! Did you not hear her speak to me just now?" Gohan hugged Videl's limp body to his chest "Come on, Videl. Keep talking. Tell them that you're alright!" but Videl would not speak. Sara looked troubled. Nick stopped in his tracks to Gohan.

"Gohan, she is not breathing anymore, and there is no heartbeat. She is dead!" and still Gohan would not listen. "Security!" two police officers ran to Gohan. They grabbed Gohan's arms and turned them on his back. This forced him to let Videl go. He decided to give in, and he stood up. He was supported by the strength of the two policemen.

"Videl, please…" he begged of her. When she was still lying lifeless on the ground, Gohan almost started to believe that she was dead. He felt himself becoming sad and angry. Whoever did this, would have to pay for it. However, he had no time to think this over, because a sharp pain shot right through his spine, as the officers started pushing him towards a police car. Gohan decided to cooperate, and when they released him from their grip, Gohan voluntary opened the door and sat down in the backseat. The police officers said nothing as they sat down in the front seats.

When they started the car, Gohan looked outside of the window. There lay a world of darkness outside of this car. Videl was gone. How was that possible? Videl was a perfect fighter. She was not the type of girl to get herself killed. Was there any evidence of a struggle? Was she raped? Gohan got scared. Where was Erasa by the way? Why did she not defend Videl?

"Where is Erasa?" Gohan asked. He moved to edge of the seat , until he was practically sitting in between the officers. The only thing that separated him from the officers, were the metal bars, which were in front of him. Gohan looked from the face of the officer on the left, to the face of the officers on the right, but no answer came from them. Gohan sat back in his seat again and gave up. He had a hard time to honestly believe Videl was dead. She simply went to the creek, and now this happened! How? Why? Gohan could not think of a single reason why someone would want to kill Videl. His precious Videl…

> > > > > >

When the car stopped in front of the police office, Gohan opened the door and stepped out. The police car drove away after Gohan closed the door again. On a normal day, Gohan would have waved at them with a smile on his face, but not today. He looked down at himself, noticing how torn his clothes were. The pain of his wounds had subsided when he was sitting in the car. All he knew was that he was having a nightmare. Hopefully, he would wake up soon. Gohan walked to the entrance of the police office, and he pushed the heavy door open. As soon as he got in, he noticed that Jim Brass was waiting for him in the waiting room. He had a cup of coffee and he seemed worried. Gohan walked to him, and of course, he did not look too happy himself either. Brass was shocked when he saw Gohan.

"Gohan! What the hell happened to you?"

"My wife was killed, so they say. That's what happened to me," Gohan sat down and looked at Brass.

"Well, I'm really sorry, but I'm happy that you don't seem to devastated. Usually, people start to break down in tears and cry their hearts out. That makes it really difficult for me to talk to them."

"I can't cry when I don't believe it's true. Videl spoke to me when I was on the crime scene. Dead people don't speak, you know? So either, Videl is not dead, or this is a nightmare."

"I'm afraid none of these are true, Gohan. See…" Brass pinched him. Gohan rubbed his shoulder as he really did feel something when Brass pinched him there. "We'll go to the mortuary soon, to hear about Videl's death." Gohan looked away. Well, if this was not a nightmare, she was not dead. It was as simple as that.

"Do as you please, but Videl is not dead! She spoke to me!"

"Well, when people hear news like this, their minds start to overload, and make people see things which are not truly there. You are in denial. Your mind is making things up."

"I am not in denial! You are! You are denying that you made a mistake over a person who is not dead!" Brass grabbed Gohan's shoulders, and shook them.

"Listen, Gohan! Listen! Videl is dead, there is no mistake to it! She was murdered!"

"And what the hell do you know about it? You were not there when she spoke to me."

"You were not supposed to go to the crime scene at all in the first place!"

"Whatever! You said that Erasa called the emergency service, where is she now? How is it that she did not get murdered?"

"I don't know Gohan, but she is in the hospital right now. She is very shocked, and does not remember anything at the moment. Can I ask you some questions, Gohan?"

"If you must…"

"Where were you at the time that I called you?" Brass asked him, afraid of how Gohan would react on this one. Gohan got very angry, and jumped up.

"What! Am I suspect now? Don't even try to fool me, because I recognise this procedure. I can tell you my alibi: I was at the hotel, in the casino. If you don't believe me, go get the security camera's tapes. I also have some pretty good motives why I would never kill her. First of all, she was my wife. Second, I love her more than anything else in the world. Third, we just had a child together! Oh God! I left her in the hotel with Erasa's boyfriend," Gohan clasped a hand over his mouth in shock.

"We informed someone named Sharpner about Erasa's condition. He was her fiancé, she said…" Brass explained.

"Fiancé? I thought they were not ready for a marriage. But where is he? At the hospital?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, and I'm sure he brought the baby with him."

"Well, I don't know. He hates children. Oh God, Elle probably already has the shaken-baby-syndrome. Videl would kill me if she would found out," Gohan panicked. Brass stood up as well, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Gohan, I know it's hard for you to accept it, but Videl is dead! Please try to believe it, or you'll get hurt even more."

"Videl is a fighter. She doesn't die that easily!"

"She did not die of natural causes. She was murdered, and as harsh as it may sound to you, nothing can bring her back to life!" Brass raised his voice. Why was it so difficult to get through to Gohan? Gohan was silent for a while, until he had an idea.

"Can I make a phone call?"

"Sure, you know the way…"

> > > > > >

"Dad? Hi, it's me! Gohan. I'm at the police station now and everyone is acting insane. They keep saying Videl is dead, but I saw her and she spoke to me! She is not dead! She can't be!" Gohan was standing in a phone cell, calling Goku.

"Gohan…I hate to bring you the news, but did you try to sense her energy?" Goku replied.

"I know it's gone and that means she's dead, but she spoke to me! How can dead people talk? Tell me!"

"Are you sure she spoke to you? Were you not imagining things?"

"Why is everyone trying to change my mind?" Gohan questioned. He heard Goku starting to sob quietly. What a shock! He is not even crying himself, how come that his father has less hope than he has. He heard Goku tell Chi-Chi that Videl was killed. They talked for a few seconds, until Chi-Chi too started crying. "Why are you all like this? Even if she were dead, we can bring her back to life, right?" There was a silence. "You know, all we have to do is to find the Dragonballs."

"We can't son," Gohan's eyes widened when he heard Goku say these words. "Unless you find out who the murderer is. Without the murderer's name and the evidence, the dragon cannot bring her back to life."

"But I don't know who the murderer is; neither do I know how exactly or why she was murdered. Still, if we can find the Dragonballs, we can ask the dragon who it was!"

"The dragon does not solve riddles, Gohan, and it also takes a year to restore the Dragonballs after we used them. I'm afraid this crime has to be solved first," Gohan sank to his knees. The phone was loosely lying in his hand.

"But what if the crime remains unsolved?" he heard Goku sob louder.

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to move on…" there was a small silence.

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"She really is dead, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is, son. Do you want us to come over now?"

"N-no, I'll be fine," Gohan said, before letting go off the phone. He remained sitting on his knees for a while, staring at the ground. He felt lost. What was he going to do now? He wanted to cry his eyes out, but he could not. He wanted to let go of all his emotions, but he started to feel sick instead and he turned pale. Eventually, he gathered all his strength and he stood up. He walked back to the room where Brass was still waiting for him. Brass looked up, worryingly.

"Captain Brass, can we go to the mortuary now?"

> > > > > >

Gohan was waiting outside of the room with Sara Sidle. Gohan was shaking with fear and sickness. In the car, he had to throw up several times. He was sick of despair. He wanted to grieve, but he could not. Doctor Al Robbins had given him a bucket, just in case he had to throw up again. Sara was sitting on the opposite side of Gohan, in the waiting room.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Gohan," Sara said.

"I don't want them to cut Videl open. I will not let them!"

"I understand, but you know you have no say in this. Videl was found in the water, and her bag was stolen. We think that someone hit her with a stick or something. She has two wounds on the back of her head. One because of a blow with something, and another because she fell on the docks with her head. Both of these wounds has wood splinters in them. We are just analysing everything now," Sara said.

"I want this case," Gohan said, angrily.

"I understand, but Grissom won't let you. You're not in the right condition to handle this case. As soon as you find the killer, you'll kill him or her yourself."

"Is that so strange?"

"No, but that is not supposed to happen. You would lose your job and your baby…I think you will get some time off in order to get yourself together.

"I don't need a few weeks off! I just want Videl back, and I need the killer to get arrested, so that I can have a serious talk with him. A serious talk he will not be able to talk about after I am done with him!" Sara frowned.

"What makes you so sure it's a him?" she asked.

"I don't know. It might as well be a her. The reason why is what matters most, right?" Gohan's shaking got worse, and he bent over the bucket again. He threw up again. His face was pale, and he was sweating. "How long will it take them to examine her? I want to see her!"

"I know, Gohan. I know…" Sara said. She sat down next to Gohan and laid a hand on his shoulder. She looked up at his face, but Gohan was staring blankly at the wall. The door opened a few minutes later. Gohan stood up with a hopeful face. He held the bucket to his side.

"Please, doctor. Please tell me that you found something useful," Gohan asked him. Sara sighed. Gohan was pleading for clues. She just hoped he would not be too disappointed.

"Well," doctor Robbins scratched over his bald head. "Let's say I found something rather surprising…Come in," He walked back into the room. Gohan and Sara followed. Gohan put the bucket on the sink, and then greeted Grissom, who was standing next to the table where someone was lying, covered in a white sheet. Grissom forced a smile. Robbins stood next to Grissom. He grabbed the white sheet, and pulled it down till Videl's chest.

"Are you ready for this, Gohan?" Sara asked him. Gohan kept staring at Videl's closed eyes.

"Yes."

"Well," Robbins pointed to Videl's head. "She has to wounds on the back of her head. One was because she was hit with a wooden item, and second was because she fell."

"Yes, I know that already!"

"Well, what you don't know is that the first blow was the cause of death," the doctor explained. Gohan frowned.

"Were their signs of a struggle? There must be!"

"No, there were no signs of a struggle. And that is for a good reason. Videl had taken drugs." The doctor revealed Videl arm. On her upper arm was a small spot. Her skin was red and the vein was swollen. "…and she had a bad trip. Did Videl ever do drugs before, Gohan?"

"No, she didn't. She did not do this herself! What drug was it?"

"Heroine, one of the most killing drugs. This drug had to be inserted with a needle; she must have done it herself. However, she took too much and when someone also hit her with something, it was too much for her body to take. We found no water in her lungs, so she did not drown."

"I don't understand this at all! Videl took drugs, and someone hit her with a wooden item? It does not make any sense! Why would someone hit her? Who would hit her?"

"My guess is the same person who hooked her on the heroine," Robbins looked up at Gohan, "That person gave Videl too much heroine on purpose. That is how things could have gone wrong."

"Does that mean Erasa killed her best friend? Erasa was with her all the time! She did it! How could she?" Gohan said. He was getting confused right now. He had too much to understand all in one day.

"No, we questioned Erasa. She and Videl got in a fight, and Erasa left. Erasa returned later to apologise, but instead, she found Videl's corpse in the water. The security tapes are being watched right now. We have witnesses telling us that Erasa and Videl indeed were yelling at each other in some sort of restaurant, and Erasa left," Grissom explained. Still, Gohan could not understand. He shook his head.

"I…I…don't get it anymore. This is all twisted!" he quickly ran back to sink, and threw up in the bucket. Sara and Grissom looked at each other for a while, not knowing what to do. Gohan washed his mouth when he stopped throwing up, and he turned around, angrily. "I want to see the report of her examination, alright?"

"I guess that could be arranged," Robbins answered. Gohan nodded.

"Then it's settled. Could I be…alone with her for a while?" he asked Grissom hesitantly. Grissom nodded, and he gestured the doctor and Sara to leave the room. When they were gone, Gohan grabbed a crutch that was standing in the corner. He sat down by her side.

Gohan stared at Videl's face. She was almost just as pale as he was. He hesitantly touched her face, and pulled back when he noticed how cold she felt. He felt guilty, so he reached out for her again and cupped her cheek.

"Why, Videl? Why?" he spoke softly. "Why do you talk to me first, and now pretend to be dead? I'm losing it!" Gohan's hand ran down from her cheek, to her neck, to her arm. "How is it possible that you took drugs? That is not like you!" He ran his hands down over the white sheet, that was covering the rest of the body. When he reached her thighs, he stopped and pulled his hand back.

"The love we had, Videl. Is it all gone because you wanted to take on an experiment? And Ellony…you left us Videl! It is not the killer's fault! It is your fault!" he yelled. He heard noises outside of the room. He heard a baby crying. It was a familiar cry. It didn't take long before Sara entered the room, with his baby in a baby carriage. She held a red book in her hand. She sighed when she was standing in front of him. His hopeful face was so…heartbreaking.

"We found this at the crime scene. I thought that maybe you wanted to have this," Sara handed it to Gohan, and left the baby standing next to Gohan. She left the room in silence. Gohan looked at the book in amazement. He ran his hands over the cover. It was the diary he gave her on the very first day they met! She carried this with her in her bag always!

Slowly, Gohan opened the book, and read the first sentence written on the first page. _'The minute I saw him, I knew something was going to happen that would change my life…'_ Gohan closed the book again, and looked at Videl. He laid his hand in her neck for the last time. There was no heartbeat. He bent foreword, and shakily kissed her lips. He pressed his lips against her soft and cold ones for the very last time, and then he stood up and walked over to Ellony. When he looked in the carriage, he saw how much Ellony looked like her mother.

That was the moment when something snapped inside Gohan, and he finally allowed himself to cry. He cried a lot, he yelled and screamed and he threw up again. He looked at Videl. She was staring at the ceiling with her eyes closed. His face was pale, his heart was torn and his eyes were watery.

"How, Videl? How could you leave us like this?" Gohan forced himself to turn his face away from her, and he left the room, pushing Elle forward in the carriage. He was still crying when he joined up with the other CSI's outside of the room. Gohan knew that the only way he could ever get over this, was to find out what had truly had happened on this day, the fourth of April.

**End of chapter**

** > > > > > >**

So, how was it? I've just started writing, and it's the first time I've ever written something serious like this. If you have some usual advice for me so I can improve my writing, let me know! In case you were wondering, I used some of the characters from the tv program Crime Scene Investigation for this story.

Here are some questions which I'd rather answer now, before you have to ask them.

Why is the baby called Ellony, and not Pan?

I have a good reason for that. If you continue reading this story, you will understand.

The CSI stuff written in this story, do they work like this in true life too?

I'm afraid not. I made it all up.

Why does this story have the 'romance' genre?

Because every second chapter of this story is Videl's diary. This is mainly about her life with Gohan, and that contains lots of sweetness. There is also another reason, but you will only find it out when you continue reading this story.

Why is Gohan's mind so complicated right now?

Because mine is too! Just kidding, no he's just really confused right now, but I think he'll get around.

When will you continue this story?

As soon as possible. The next chapter is about Videl's diary, and describes seven days of her life. However, reviews are a good motivation for me.

If there are more questions, or comments, please review!

Love,

Frederica


	2. First diary entry: June 11th – June 28th

**Restless**, by Frederica

**First diary entry: June 11th – June 28th**

_-- -- -- -- -- --_

_June 11th_

_Dear Diary,_

_The minute I saw him, I knew something was going to happen that would change my life…I went to the Silver Creek today, like I always do when something is bothering me. _

_I was really bothered today. My dad got really angry at me. He had always wanted me to become his marketing manager, and I refused once again. Today the university called him, to say that I did really well in my entry exam on the forensic science. I was guaranteed a place in the study of forensics. My dad got angry when he heard it. He ran into my room and yelled at me._

'_What the hell do you think you're doing? Why didn't you apply for the marketing university?'_

'_Because I didn't want to, dad. To tell you the truth, I have been interested in investigating crimes ever since I was young. I tried to tell you, but you never listened. I applied for the study of forensic science, and I'm not going to give it up!'_

'_You will after I'm done with you!'_

_That's when it happened. He got so pissed at me, that he raised his fist, and pounded in to my stomach. He pounded so hard that I almost vomited. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up from the floor, throwing me against the wall. I hit my head on the edge of a book shelve, and I guess that's when I passed out. Cause the next thing I know, is that I gathered all my strength to stand up from the floor, and my dad was gone._

_Why am I such a weakling? I could stop his punches if I wanted to. How is it that I can't, every time he starts hurting me. I'm so afraid of him. I'm shaking while I'm writing this, so my handwriting is a bit shaky. Why don't I block his punches? Why do I let my fear take over at times like that? It's getting harder for me to hide the bruises. Who would ever believe a girl who is saying that her father, the World Champion, beats his own daughter up?_

_That's when I went to the Silver Creek. I went to my usual spot; in the middle of the grass, a few meters away from the pier, and a few meters away from the forest. It was night, and the moon gave the creek a silver glow. It seemed as if everything was normal, but it wasn't and I could feel it. _

_When I got there, I found that my usual seat was taken. A guy was sitting there. He was tall, he had dark hair and dark eyes. He was wearing blue pants and a blue top. He had a red ribbon wrapped around his waist. Maybe it was a belt or something. He was staring blankly at the water, he seemed bothered as well. He was a reflection of myself! _

_I felt really sorry for him, so I asked him if it was okay if I sat down with him there. He answered that it was okay. I sat down and also started staring through the water. What I didn't know was that he was looking at me, until he spoke up. _

'_Do you come here often? I do, but I never saw you before…'_

'_I do too, but I never saw you either. I always come here when I'm troubled.'_

'_Really? Me too!' then there was a small silence, until he hesitantly spoke up. _

'_Can I ask you why you're troubled?' That was it. That sentence brought up my whole life story. I told him everything. I told him about my father. How he was always acting tough and how he used to beat me up. I told him about my mother who was murdered, and how that crime had never been solved. I told him about my suspicion of my father, that I thought he was the killer. I told him how scared I was of every time he beat me up, that I wouldn't survive. I told him about the men that my father took home, and what he allowed them to do to me. Let's say that the only thing I didn't tell him was that he was the World Champion. I didn't say it, in order to protect him, as well as myself. The guy was silent for a while._

'_You have to get out of that house. He's killing you slowly, you know that?'_

'_I know, but I'll never be able to take care of myself without any money or a job. One day, I'll leave, and I'll never return,' We were quiet again, until I spoke up hesitantly, 'and can I ask you this time why you are troubled?' Now the same thing happened to him. His story was surprising. He said he was only half human. He told me how he once was kidnapped by his uncle. He told me about his father, who was a very brave man. He told me that he was warrior, and that he always saved the world from evil when it was needed. He said he had great friends, and yet he couldn't be happy. He said that in the last fight, he killed his own father. I was really shocked about that, until he told me the rest of the story. He said he was the tiny kid fighting Cell, and that his father had just taught him how to increase his strength even more. Eventually, his father told him to kill Cell, but he continued fooling around, and eventually, Cell used self-destruct. In order to save the world from destruction, his father sacrificed his life, by moving himself and Cell to another planet. Cell came back unfortunately, but then he beat him. HE beat him, not my father! It was him, not my father! It was an amazing story, or am I just insane? I didn't know the guy, and yet I felt like I could trust him. I believed the whole half human story. The thing about my dad also made sense. He never lets me watch him train, and I guess the only reason why he wants me to go that marketing university is just so that I can catch him when he falls. He wants me to save his ass, the moment his secret comes out. _

'_It was not your fault. You couldn't foresee the future!' I answered. He was really surprised._

'_You actually believe my story?'_

'_Yes, I do, really. It makes sense. It feels right to believe you. And you believed me too, didn't you?' He smiled at me. _

'_Thank you,' he said in a soft voice. He opened his bag, which was hanging loosely around his shoulder. He took out a blue and a red book. The cover was made from a silky material. There were diamonds and glitters on the red one. The blue one was very simple, but it had a silver lining around the edges. He held out the red book to me. 'Take it.'_

'_Why are you giving this to me?'_

'_I use the blue one as a journal. It really helps me to give an overview of my day and my problems. Sometimes this journal helps me to come up with solutions. This one is still unwritten. You should try it too.'_

'_I can't take this. It must have cost you a fortune.' _

'_Take it, please. As a token of my gratitude…' that moment our eyes met, and I could feel how my heart skipped a few beats. I took it and ran my fingers across the beautiful material._

'_Thank you, I'll use it wisely.'_

'_Good.' And then he stood up. 'I have to go home now. Bye.'_

'_Goodbye…' and I watched him leave. He entered the forest, and I stared at his backside until he was out of sight. Then there was nothing but me inwardly cursing at myself. What the hell was I doing? This was the first time I ever met someone I felt so comfortable with. I knew everything about him and I liked him, and he knew everything about me, and I hope he liked me too. I know everything about him, except his name or his phone number. I'm such a stupid girl!_

_Right now, I still hate myself. Now that I'm writing in this lovely book he gave me, I should at least be able to send him a nice card or something. Or phone him just to say hello. But now, I don't know his number or address and I don't know his name either. I keep seeing his face floating in front of me all the time, and it makes me feel happy. There's finally a guy out there whom I'm starting to fall for, and now I'll never see him again. I feel so…lonely right now. _

_June 15th_

_Dear Diary, _

_I don't believe it. I don't believe myself anymore. I have been through many things. Practically everyone I met proved to be unpredictable and sometimes evil. I never trust anybody, which is good. Now I talk to some guy by the creek, and I trusted him the moment I laid my eyes on his. This is just crazy! I mean, he told me stories about being an alien and the killing of his father. Why do I believe all this?_

_Next thing I know, this guy visits me in all my dreams. These dreams are pleasant, and make me want to stay asleep. This encounter has turned me into a dreamer, something I never imagined myself to be. I never had serious dreams, but now I just dream of meeting him again. What would happen if I saw him again? _

_In my dreams, we dance. Nothing happens, we just dance. The only thing that changes in my dreams is the location. We were dancing by the creek the first time I dreamed about him. The second time, we were dancing in the creek. The third time, we were dancing in some sort of neat ball room and the fourth time was just strange. We were actually dancing in a laboratory. Every time I wake up, I can still feel the way his fingers were laced through mine. What the fuck is going on, I wonder. _

_Well, I never saw him near the creek again. The chance that I'll ever see him again is so small. It's no fair. It's like I'm heart broken over someone I don't even know. Life's a mess right now. I better go and clean it up. _

_June 20th_

_Dear Diary,_

_I went out shopping today with my friend Erasa. We had to get a dress, because a friend of ours is getting married next week. Everyone around us is getting married these days. Erasa and I are behind. _

_I told her about the mystery guy from the creek. She felt sorry for me. I'm starting to feel sorry for myself now too, because I just can't get over him. Erasa supported me, and told me that she would make sure I would have fun at the wedding. Her boyfriend Sharpner would also come to the wedding, and he would bring a friend of his along. Erasa said that the friend was single, hot and his name was Gohan._

_I don't know what to expect of him Erasa did not have a picture of him, and she could not describe him very well. I'm just going to enjoy myself. I like weddings in general, and it gives me a good reason to get drunk and misbehave. I'm going to forget about the mystery guy, and flirt with the Gohan guy. Who knows? He might actually be a really nice guy with no further intentions than having a good time!_

_So eventually we found a dark purple dress, quite simple to put on, sleeveless, and the back was left naked. I liked it, and it wasn't even that expensive. I also bought a golden necklace to go with it. Our friend that's going to get married, Susanne, said that we would go ice-skating after the ceremony, because that's where she had met her fiancé. I'll just take a sports outfit along._

_I've been alone in the house for two days now. Every time I get out of school, I first try to hang around with my friends for a while. Then I go home to eat, and I hope that my dad doesn't have a 'friend' over. If he does, than I have a problem and then my dad locks me in a room with that guy and I spent the rest of the day collecting myself. If he doesn't, I leave the house again and wander around until it's time to go back and get to sleep. Two days ago, I found a note, saying that he would be out of town for two weeks and that there would be enough food in the fridge. I could feel the relieve wash over me. I'm safe for two weeks!_

_I have to go downtown again soon. I forgot to buy a wedding gift for Susanne. I have no idea what to get her. I'm sure everyone is going to buy toasters just like the last wedding. Well, I'm going to buy her something else. I'm going to buy her a clock and decorate it with paint that glows in the dark. Why am I going to buy her a clock? I don't know, but they are always useful. I always lose track of time when I'm having fun, so I'll just remind her. Couples who just got married tend to lose track of time a lot, you know?_

_June 27th_

_Dear Diary,_

_You're not going to believe what happened today! That Gohan person that would come to the wedding was the guy from the creek! It's been such a wonderful day! Never before has a day been too short in my opinion. Today was different. I'm really tired right now, so I'm going to sleep and write about it in the morning. _

_June 28th_

_Dear Diary,_

_My head hurts like hell and every muscle in my body hurts, but it was worth it. It was Susanne's wedding yesterday, but deep inside I know that yesterday was meant to be a perfect day for myself as well. I'm not going to forget it anytime soon. _

_Before the ceremony yesterday, Erasa and I were walking through the castle where the wedding was held. We had gotten dressed in the dresses we bought for the occasion, and already stole a glass of champagne from the table standing near the window by the entrance. The bride was still hiding in a room somewhere in the castle. The groom was also walking through the castle, looking rather nervous. We were looking for Sharpner and his friend, of course._

_Unfortunately, the castle was big, and it was difficult to find them. When Erasa noticed Sharpner standing in a corner near a wine bar, she went wild and ran to him. Sharpner embraced her and then looked up at me. _

"_Hi! Well, Videl, are you ready to meet my friend?" Sharpner asked me. I looked at Erasa. What did she tell him? Sharpner was presenting him as if he was going to introduce me to my boyfriend for life. Well, I figured I was going to dump this guy at the end of the day. _

"_I guess…," I said, frowning at him. Erasa looked at me with an innocent look on her face. _

"_Gohan, I'd like to introduce you to someone," Sharpner called out. I watched as someone entered the room. I recognised his face immediately. I started smiling my face off while I was trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach down. "Gohan, this is Videl. Videl, this is my favourite virgin; Gohan."_

"_Hi…Gohan," I said, holding out my hand as he walked to me and grabbed it. He didn't shake my hand. _

"_Hi Videl," he said. His cheeks were turning red. I continued to smile and stare into his eyes. He stared back at me. We forgot to let go of each others hand, until Sharpner spoke up again. _

"_But apparently you two already know each other. Well, luckily you seem to get along well," he said. Gohan, looked up at him and tried to hide the amazement on his face. _

"_Well, we saw each other some time ago," Gohan said. He looked back at me. I smiled and looked away. I just hoped that he could not tell that I was so happy to see him. There was a moment of silence, but I broke it. _

"_Isn't this awkward?" I asked. _

"_Yes," Erasa confirmed what I said. "Excuse us for a minute." She dragged me away from Gohan and Sharpner and pulled me to the other side of the room. "Is that him?"_

"_Is that who?" I knew what she meant, but I thought it would be better to play stupid. _

"_They guy from the creek, who else?" she asked. _

"_Oh yeah, that's him," I said. I smiled and I walked away, leaving Erasa behind, dumbfounded. When I got back to Sharpner and Gohan, Gohan held his arm out to me, and I gladly took it. _

"_I think it's time to go outside now. The ceremony will start soon. It would be rude to be late," he said, never taking his eyes of me. _

"_Yes, it would," I said. Erasa grabbed Sharpner's arm and we slowly made our way outside the castle. The garden was nicely decorated and all dressed up in white. As much as I like to throw parties and decorate places, I couldn't have done it better myself. We sat down on the first row, because Erasa didn't want to miss a thing. I was sitting next to Gohan, and I couldn't help but look up at him all the time. I was happy when I caught him looking at me too. _

_The ceremony was nothing special, unfortunately. Susanne was wearing a beautiful white dress, not showing any skin at all. Speaking of skin, I was hoping that Gohan was not staring down my chest all the time. What came after the ceremony was the nice part._

_We were lead inside again, and a room with huge doors were opened. When we walked inside, we entered a big room with a red carpet. Glass tables were standing near the wall with all kinds of food and drinks on it. Music was playing, and the people ahead of us got together and started dancing. Soon, I saw no one but Gohan anymore. _

"_Miss Videl, may I dance with you?" he asked me. Can you believe it? For the first time in my life, I was actually treated like a lady._

"_Yes, you may," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back as he stood in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he carefully placed his hands on my naked back. I shivered beneath his touch. He noticed this, and immediately pulled his hands back. _

"_I'm sorry," he said. I was about to say that it was okay, but he had already raised his hands up to his mouth, and he blew in it. He was such a gentleman. When he placed his hands on my back again, he looked at me with a concerned look on his face. "Better?"_

"_Yes, thank you," I whispered. We stepped closer to each other, and this was the first time I ever liked to be close to a man. I leaned in to his slow movement of dancing. _

"_How are you?" he whispered. I found comfort in the way he asked me that, and I laid my head against his chest._

"_My dad's away for two weeks," I told him. He continued to dance as he inhaled sharply. _

"_He didn't leave someone behind with you, did he?" I felt how he pulled me closer, as if he was protecting me. Was he actually worried about me?_

"_No, I'm home alone," I said. His grip on me loosened. That's right! I wanted him to relax around me. I may have troubles at home, but I'm not a girl who's so emotionally torn that others should act different around me or feel uncomfortable. I mean, look at Erasa. I've known her for quite a while, but she doesn't know what is going on with me. I consider it to be a good thing. I was quite relaxed around Gohan too. This guy was definitely something out of the ordinary. _

"_Good," he said. I pulled myself back from his chest to look up at him. _

"_And how are you?" I asked him in a concerned voice. I was really interested, and you could not blame me. I've been thinking of him a lot ever since I met him, and not seeing him had been quite frustrating. _

"_I'm fine…fine. It is you I'm worried about, really," he admitted. I smiled and laid my head back against his chest. _

"_I write a lot in that book you gave me. I'm using it as a diary now." No shit…_

"_Well, I bought it because I felt that I was going to give it away to someone who needed it. Maybe it looks a bit girlish, but…" he did not finish his sentence. _

"_Good thing I'm a girl," I pointed out. "So you felt you were going to give it away? Are you paranormal or something? Is that part of your…inheritance?" I asked him. I felt him sigh, and I was afraid I said something wrong. With my head against his chest I could feel his heart beating rapidly as we continued to dance._

"_Well, none of us can see in the future, so that's no part of being…me. And soon I'm going to study something that requires me to be objective, and not believe in anything that isn't scientifically proven. So for as far as I'm concerned…it was just a coincidence. I think everyone has a forefeeling sometimes," he said. This guy was getting more interesting by the moment. He knew so much!_

"_What are you going to study then?"_

"_Forensic science. I want to be a crime scene investigator. Have you ever heard of that?" my eyes widened. _

"_Well, I'm going to study the same thing and I passed the entry exam, so I guess I've heard of it," I said. Gohan stopped moving and pulled me away from his chest to take a good look at me._

"_You're kidding, right?" his eyes seemed to be smiling. I didn't know very well what to answer on this. Was this a rhetorical question? _

"_No! We have so much in common! We would be perfect for each other!" Score one for the team, Videl! This was honestly the brightest thing I ever said. Gohan immediately looked away, and I started blushing. There was a silence between us, but luckily we were interrupted by my dearest friend Erasa._

"_Come on, Videl," she said, grabbing me by the arm. "They are going to throw the bride's bouquet right now. All the single women are getting together. You are still single, so why won't you give it a try?" I wanted to object, but Erasa was already pushing me into the circle of screaming women, who had trouble getting a guy. These women were so different from me! It was hard to imagine that I had something in common with them. Women were crowding around me, jumping screaming and pushing. Susanna turned around and threw the bouquet away to the crowd I was in. Then the inevitable happened…I caught it. It was a big mistake. _

_The women around me became hysterical. They applauded and screamed. They patted me on the shoulder while I simply stood there. I was doomed and I knew it. _

"_Here," I handed the bouquet to a fat woman who was screaming in my ear. She had been standing next to me, and I didn't want it. Pictures were taken of me while I was looking for Gohan. When I found him, he was leaning against the wall with a playful grin plastered on his face. I made my way through the crowd to get back to him. _

"_Don't laugh at me, I'm cursed!" I yelled at him. He started laughing. _

"_With what? Being the next one to get married?"_

"_Well, someone once told me that there lies a curse on the one who catches it. The one who does, is also the one to get divorced next," I explained. I am convinced that this is true. I've seen the destruction of marriage right before my very eyes._

"_Congrats, Videl!" Sharpner exclaimed, throwing his arm around my neck. I looked at him angrily, and he immediately let go. _

"_Yeah! I can't believe that you're the next one to get married," Erasa said._

"_Oh, come on guys! You don't actually believe in that shit, do you?" I told them. They shrug their shoulders. Gohan still had that smile plastered on his face. _

"_Come on, let's grab something to eat," Erasa suggested. She grabbed a plate from one on the glass tables and chose some food. I watched how Gohan picked his food. Well, he definitely wasn't a vegetarian. When he was done, he had like five different sorts of meat on his plate. _

"_Shall I get you something too?" he asked me, already grabbing a plate. I nodded. He really was such a gentleman!_

"_Sure. I'd like to have a bit of that strange tomato salad and some of that steak, please," I answered. He grabbed it for me and handed me the plate. I thanked him._

_After Sharpner collected some food too, we walked to a table where everyone else was eating. It was in the back of the room, and we had to press ourselves almost against the wall in order to avoid the dancing couples. I felt really happy._

"_So Videl, what are you going to study next year, or are you already studying something?" Sharpner asked me. I wondered why he asked that. _

"_Why are you asking her something you already kn…ouch!" Erasa said, looking at Sharpner angrily. Sharpner gave her a look that told her to shut up. Now I knew what was going on; Sharpner was playing matchmaker! And I didn't even dislike it… _

"_Well, I'm going to study forensic science. I'd like to work on the graveyard shift," I told Sharpner. _

"_What a coincidence! So am I," Gohan exclaimed, looking into my eyes. He was smiling happily. Okay, so either this guy had a really bad memory, or he was a good actor. If he had a bad memory, he would have forgotten about me, right? Well, he was probably pretending that we had been talking about nothing all the time, in order to avoid questions or something. He pretended as if we didn't know each other at all, while we actually knew each other so well! I felt safe. _

"_I see it now…You guys are so perfect for each other," Sharpner continued. Déjà vu. Gohan and I looked up at each other, but this time I was the one to look down, and I hoped that my cheeks didn't turn as red as I thought they did. _

"_Well, I should get changed. We're going ice-skating in an hour, and I can't do that in a dress like this. Do any of you know where I can find a spare room?" I asked, quickly standing up._

"_Around the corner are a few empty rooms. They are unlocked, so I guess it would be fine if you used them," Sharpner told me. Well, it's not like I never did anything I wasn't sure of before, so I thanked him and left._

_When I left the room and entered the main hallway, I noticed a row of doors on my left. Quite mysterious doors at that, but when I listened and pressed my ear against one of the door, I didn't hear any voices. So I opened it and entered a room with a bed, a closet, and a television. Next to the bed, which was king-sized, were two nightstands with lamps on them. Who knows? Maybe this castle was also used as a hotel?_

_Then something happened which I had not foreseen. I had thrown my bag on the bed and stripped out of my dress when the door opened and Gohan barged into the room. I froze._

"_Videl! I'm sorry, I --"he stopped in his tracks, after closing the door. I could feel his eyes on me. They travelled down my body and rested on my stomach. I unfroze, and grabbed the dress from the bed to cover me._

"_I'm sorry. I should have knocked," he said, turning around and facing the door again. I checked the back of his head to see if he had eyes there, but he didn't. Hey, this guy was from outer space! It could have been! When I found no eyes in the back of his head, I dropped the dress and I opened my bag. I quickly took out my sportswear. _

"_It wasn't your fault. I should have locked the door," Gohan said. I quickly jumped into my pants, and put on my shirt. "You can turn around now."_

"_I'm so sorry," Gohan apologised, before turning around again. He looked at me, and I looked at him. There was another silence between us. I wanted to put on a sweater, but Gohan grabbed my hand and stopped me. A shiver went up my spine, and it wasn't a shiver of pleasure._

_I had made a mistake again, I thought. I had trusted this guy, he knew everything about me and now he was going to abuse it and take advantage of me. I took steps back, but his grip on my hand tightened painfully. I looked up at his face, but I didn't see an evil expression, I saw a shocked one. _

"_Videl, I don't want to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt you, I swear," he said. I saw the softness in his eyes and yet I was not convinced. "If you'd let me, I would like to take a look at your stomach."_

"_Why?" I asked him. There was still a hint of fear in my voice._

"_I think I saw something," he said, letting go of my hand and stepping back. "You can trust me." Well, I trusted him, but that didn't take my fear away. The only reason why I let him was because he seemed to be concerned about me._

_I let my arms fall down to my sides, as a sign to him that I had let my defence down. Now was his chance, and he was allowed to look. He hesitantly stepped forward again, and grabbed the hem of my shirt. He never took his eyes of mine as he lifted my shirt up, and stopped just below my breasts. He never looked at the newly revealed skin of my stomach._

"_You can always say 'stop'," Gohan whispered. Well, he was certainly suitable for the police academy; he was stating my rights. _

"_So can you," I whispered back. Then I noticed that his eyes were travelling down my body again. I saw how his neutral expression turning into a shocked, almost frightened expression. I started smiling nervously. "So what did you find? Blunt force trauma? An entry wound? Maybe a lot of scary, nasty paper cuts even?" I said, acting like a fool. Gohan pulled my shirt back down and helped me with putting on my sweater. His fingers lightly grazed over my stomach as he straightened my sweater. Unlike all these romantic novels say, I did not feel 'lost in his touch'. I did not 'moan in ecstasy'. I was terrified. _

"_Bruises, Videl, many bruises are what I just found," he started pacing trough the room, and raised his hand up to his face to rub the bridge of his nose. "I have to help you, but how? If we don't find a way to help you soon, they may kill you. Your father and his crew… I have to do something about them."_

"_Don't! I'll be fine by myself! As long as I have your book and…" I paused, "…your support, I will be fine. I will move out as soon as I can."_

"_I'm going to Curacao in four weeks with Sharpner. You should come too. And I'm sure Erasa won't mind to come with too. You deserve a holiday," Gohan proposed, looking into my eyes again. I looked down at his shoes for no reason. _

"_Well, maybe I will," I stated. I would love to go there. I'd be away from home for a while, and I'd get to spend some quality time with Gohan. That doesn't sound bad at all._

"_Tell me his name, Videl. I saw the bruises and I could sue his ass. Tell me his name, then we will get you a medical examination and then we'll nail him. You will get another home then, Videl. And don't tell me you don't want this, because I know that you want your dad behind bars for all he did to you and your mother," Gohan told me. I was shocked by this sudden explosion of him._

"_I can't tell you!" he would hate me if I told him my father was the World Champion, who was supposed to do nothing but good, and who had taken credit for his actions. He said he was the one who beat Cell, so I was really afraid he would hate me if he would found out who my father is. _

"_Why can't you?"_

"_I have a good reason."_

"_What reason?"_

"_Leave it alone."_

"_No!" All of sudden, there was a knock on the door._

"_Videl are you ready to leave?" I recognised Erasa's voice, coming from the hallway. I looked at Gohan. Did they even know he was in here with me?_

"_Yes, I'm coming," I quickly stuffed my dress in my bag and ran to the door. The looks on the faces of Sharpner and Erasa when we came out of that room were priceless._

"_So…are you going to tell me what went on between you two in that room?" Sharpner asked who was frowning at Gohan. Gohan looked up at Sharpner with a neutral expression. _

"_No." And with that said, we left the building._

_The ice-skating wasn't anything out of the ordinary, unfortunately. I was just sticking to Gohan all the time, because I couldn't skate on the ice. I kept falling! My ankles were too weak, probably. When we went home, Gohan handed me a small paper with a number on it. It was HIS number. I'm holding it in my hand right now, while I'm writing this. He has a very neat handwriting, by the way._

_Our goodbyes were very disappointing. We casually said 'goodnight' and 'sleep well' and shook each other's hands and that was it. Just like the beginning of the day, except for the different greetings we used then. Maybe we'll do better next time. I just wonder…_

_As for today, I'm going to sleep some more and dream about Gohan. I'm still tired. When I wake up again, I'm going to call Gohan. Maybe he'd like to come to the creek and meet me there. I'll ask him to bring along his journal along. I'd like to see how he keeps it. _

_I still have something to explain about my father. There is nothing I want to hide from him any longer. He should continue to know everything about me. I want us to get closer. _

_-- -- -- -- -- --_

So far, the first diary entry of Videl. Did you like it? I sure hope so. I know I actually promised to describe seven days, but I started writing stuff which did not have much further importance to the story, so I decided to leave them out. I wanted to thank everyone who added me on their author alert and favourite authors list. It encouraged me to continue this. Thanks! I also wanted to thank my dear friend Noryale, who proof-read this for me. You were of much help (what would my readers do without you, haha).

Love,

Frederica

Last, but certainly not least, my reply to the reviewers:

Vi3: I'm thinking of things to tell you which I did not tell you on MSN, but the words won't come to me. Well, I just want to thank you. You know what for…

Anonymous: Well, I'm glad to read that my story was able to touch some emotional strings. I hope you think that this chapter still was good work.

fireeyes: Thank you! It's such a compliment to hear that my story actually got to people. I'm sorry I made you cry though. Well, this chapter was actually showing some happiness, right?

miroku-has-darkness: Sorry for the wait.

demi-legend: Wow! Thanks for the big compliment! Well the reason why I used can not instead of can't, was to show that Gohan is a serious person, well-educated, you know it. I promise the story will slow down from now on. Thanks for the advise, though. Tell me to hurry if the story slows down too much, okay? Haha, I'm sorry for the wait.

okusama: Thanks for the many compliments!

Luca: Yo Alied! Thanks a lot! Marleen says 'hi'! Hihi!

peachchanvidel: I'm sorry I made you cry! I hope this chapter made you smile, haha. Thanks for the compliments. By the way, your grammar is not bad at all. English is not my native language either, so I know the problem. German is a difficult language! I have lots of problems with the German grammar. I'm happy I passed my last test, haha! Well, here you have a new chapter!


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